It has always been a crime to pick up a hooker or a prostitute and have sex for money. Normally it is a simple misdemeanor and the punishment is usually a fine or at worst probation.  If the working girl is seventeen however and you are over the age of twenty five you could find yourself facing a long prison sentence.  In Florida it is a serious felony for an older man to have sex with a seventeen year old woman, even if she is a prostitute.  In Sarasota, there have been a number of prosecutions all as a result of the testimony of one prostitute who was seventeen at the time she was engaging in sex for money.

It does not matter under current law if she even carried a fake ID or told the man that she was over twenty one.  Normally, the age of consent in Florida is 16 but there is an exception that applies to seventeen year old girls and men over the age of twenty five.  As crazy as this sounds, some men in Sarasota now find themselves facing long State prison sentences for simply having sex with a prostitute.  It does not matter under the law if she had sex with many others.  The State needs to exercise some discretion in these matters, particularly if the girl is a prostitute.  If the man she picks up is twenty four years old, it is not a felony.  If the man is twenty five he faces prison.  How can that be justice?

The bottom line is, don't pick up hookers or even engage in sex for money with girls you meet on the Internet if they are even remotely underage.  Even if they have an ID, it could be false and you could find yourself in deep trouble.

If you have been arrested for solicitation or some other sex crime in Lee County or elsewhere and you have a question, please don't hesitate to call for a free consultation.  Let me hear your views on this subject.  As an sex crime lawyer I might be able to help